by Jude Bayton
Her sting found its mark. “Be that as it may,” I snapped, “I would rather be unnoticed in my dowdy clothes than a strutting peacock with everyone witnessing both my triumphs and disappointments.”
She gave a little laugh. “Bravo, Jillian. That’s the spirit.” Evergreen was incorrigible. But there was no denying how stunning she looked tonight. The Wedgewood blue of her silk gown complemented her eyes, so that one could hardly believe their colour was natural. Her hair was up in an intricate arrangement of curls, with one blonde ringlet framing each side of her face.
“Father is with Mountjoy, in the hall, and Marabelle is here somewhere.” Her voice held disdain at the mere mention of her cousin’s name. I was surprised at the vehemence of dislike in her tone.
“And there is Perry, and Marik. They just arrived back from Bath this afternoon and have had a wonderful time there.”
The two men crossed the room to join us. Though they were so different in appearance, they cut a fine pair, and several feminine eyes studied their handsome features as they approached.
“Miss Farraday,” Marik held out his hand to shake mine. Perry did the same.
“Welcome back, gentlemen. How was Bath?”
“Wet,” Marik said with a laugh. “Which sounds appropriate for a place with such a name. Does it not?”
“It does. I hope the weather did not spoil your time there?”
“On the contrary,” interjected Perry. “There are such interesting places to explore in Bath. Many of them indoors, thankfully.”
“The ingenuity of Roman architecture and engineering is impressive.” Marik continued. “For an early civilization, their ideas were far beyond their time.”
“They were barbarians,” Evergreen said drily. “They fed people to lions for goodness sake. How ‘modern’ a notion is that Marik?”
The Indian slid her a stare, and his mouth turned up slightly on one side. “In my experience, most barbaric people are usually cleverly disguised as persons more palatable to our society.” He gave a sarcastic smile, and I could not help but notice a spark of irritation in Evergreen’s eyes as she glared back at him.
Perry seemed oblivious to their fencing words. “We found a wonderful tailor there and made arrangements for him to make me several suits. I truly liked Bath. If it were not so far inland, I would persuade Father to open an office there and I’d volunteer to run it—” he trailed off as Lord Mountjoy entered the room where he stood for a moment and waited for the general hubbub to quell.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced loudly. “Please join us for tonight’s featured lectures, from The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.”
The hum of conversation arose once more as the throng slowly wound their way into the great hall for the evening’s presentation.
I FOUND THE LECTURES INTERESTING. I gained newfound respect for Uncle Jasper, as he spoke about his lichens and fungi. A topic I found mundane at home came alive when he spoke so passionately in front of a crowd. The audience rewarded him with hearty applause when he was finished.
After the program, the speakers remained in the hall to mingle, answer questions and encourage those who wished to sponsor the society. I noticed Mrs Stackpoole remained close to Uncle Jasper, and I opted to stay away and allow them their moment together. Prunella Stackpoole looked quite fetching this evening in her black gown. Gone was the mob-cap she usually sported. Tonight, her hair was artfully arranged, and she was radiantly happy.
During the lectures, I had sat with the LaVelle siblings. At one point turning to see Victor sitting a few rows away, with Marabelle at his side in a bright pink dress. I was rather surprised to see her in such a vibrant colour, when normally she wore such understated tones. I also kept looking over my shoulder to find Dominic. But he was absent. I was disappointed he had not come, yet guessed there would be a valid reason. Dominic was not the type to make false promises.
In the reception room, the discarded plates and glasses from earlier had been cleared away, and fresh platters of food were laid out for all. There were many in attendance enjoying the fine wine and cuisine, most of them strangers to me. I assumed this event would have attracted prominent families from many miles outside of Ambleside, perhaps even as far away as Workington. Perry and Marik were off in the distance, speaking to another young, well-dressed man, but I had lost sight of Evergreen among the swell. That was fine with me, for tonight she was petulant. Her personality was always at odds with itself. She was either kind or mean spirited, and never anything in between.
I sipped on my wine and wandered over to the glass panelled doors overlooking the gardens. They had been left wide open to allow fresh air into the room and provided an extensive view of the estate. Though little light was left in the sky, I could still see the stretch of lawn, a fountain, and flower gardens which culminated at the shore of the lake. Now the rain had long moved away, the massive body of water was calm.
I gazed at the horizon. The sky was pink and grey, with remnants of clouds skittering across the water. Lost in thought, I almost dropped my wine glass when a large object suddenly dropped in front of the window before me, landing with a resounding thud. It was so unexpected, I gasped out loud, taken entirely by surprise. I stepped out onto the flagstones to see what it was.
A mass of pink silk lay in a crumpled heap upon the ground. It took a moment for my mind to register what was right before my eyes… “Dear God!” I shouted. “Someone fetch a doctor!” For there, lying broken and twisted upon the sodden grass, was Marabelle Pike.
Chapter Seventeen
MY BODY STILL SHOOK. I SAT in a warm study with a glass of brandy clutched between my trembling hands. Next to me on the sofa, Lady Mountjoy looked intently at my face, her brown eyes soft with compassion.
“How are you feeling, dear?” she said gently.
I let out a breath. “I am unsure. It does not seem real, Lady Mountjoy.”
“Louisa, please.” She touched my arm in reassurance.
“How can Marabelle have fallen from up there?” My mind whirled. What possible reason could the woman have to be upstairs in the family’s private quarters?
“I do not know, Jillian,” Louisa replied. “That is for the constable to discover. Victor and Perry are up there with him as we speak.
I finished the brandy and placed the empty glass upon a side table. “I am better now, I think. I would like to see my uncle if it suits you.” I rose to my feet, and she followed. “Thank you so much for taking care of me, Louisa. I believe I should go home now.”
We left the study and found the reception room empty. As we approached the great hall, Uncle Jasper met me and took me into his arms. Tears pricked my eyes, and I willed them gone. This was neither the time nor place to allow my emotions to run riot.
“May we go?” I asked.
Uncle Jasper nodded gravely.
When the Mountjoy carriage arrived at our house, I was never so happy to be home. I was exhausted. Uncle Jasper insisted Mrs Stackpoole take me straight inside while he helped the footman unload the items from his lecture.
I was already in my bed when Uncle Jasper came upstairs. He knocked on my bedroom door, and I bade him come in. My gaslight still burned, and I was sitting up with my book laying untouched on my lap.
“Are you all right, Jilly dear? Is there anything you need?”
I shook my head. “I will be fine, Uncle. It was the shock of seeing her.” I heard my voice wobble and swallowed hard. “In truth, there was no friendship between us, but she did not deserve to die in such a terrible manner.”
“You are right, my dear. But you must not dwell upon it for it will only cause you grief. As a member of the LaVelle family you can rest assured that Victor will get to the bottom of it. ’Tis their worry, Jilly, not yours. Try to push it from your mind this evening, for rest is important after a nasty shock. You will be able to think clearer come morning. I’ll bid you a goodnight.” He gave me a thin smile, kissed the top of my head, and lef
t the room.
I did not move but willed my mind to stop thinking. I could feel the tug of brandy in my system lulling my nerves to settle down, so I turned out my lamp and sank underneath my quilt. I closed my eyes and reflected upon the irony that I had left Devon to escape the grief my mother’s dying had brought. Now, after a few weeks of living in Ambleside, death had found me yet again.
WAS IT A NIGHTMARE? UPON WAKING, it took a moment for my thoughts to tumble into order. I staunched a cry of anguish remembering Marabelle Pike was dead and had died right before my eyes. I blinked back tears. I must pull myself together. Why was I so emotional? It had to be shock, I deduced. But that was not acceptable. I was a strong woman, was I not? I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself out of bed.
By the time I joined Uncle Jasper and Mrs Stackpoole in the kitchen, I had composed myself. There were eggs warming in a pan, and the teapot was on the table.
“Morning, Jilly. I hope you got some sleep?” Uncle asked kindly. He was tucking into scrambled eggs.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. Mrs Stackpoole brought me a plate and ladled a spoonful of eggs onto a slice of toast.
“I did sleep. Thank you. I am better for the rest.” I glanced at the housekeeper whose face was drawn. She looked tired. “Mrs Stackpoole. How do you fare?”
She joined us at the table. “I’m a right bundle of nerves, my dear. In all the years I’ve lived in this village, never has there been so many tragedies. It’s distressin’ to say the least.”
“Indeed,” agreed Uncle Jasper. “Mrs S. has the run of it. I don’t know what things are coming to. A shame, if you ask me. It had been a glorious evening, up until the accident.” He took a sip of his tea. “By the by, I would anticipate a visit from the constable, my dear. He said as much last night. He wants to speak with you as well, Prunella, so you ladies should remain at home today. Best place for you both, all things considered.”
“Yes, Uncle. I had decided as much myself.” I took a bite of scrambled eggs but could not taste them. I put down my fork. “I cannot stop thinking about why Marabelle was upstairs in the Mountjoy’s family apartments? What was she doing there? And how did she fall from that balcony?”
Uncle Jasper munched on his toast, in deep reflection. “She could have taken a dizzy spell, or became light-headed from a glass of sherry?” He took another bite.
I was unconvinced. “I cannot agree with you.” I rose from the table and cleared away the remains of my uneaten breakfast, my appetite gone. “I think something else happened to her. Though I harboured no fondness for Marabelle, she did not deserve such a fate.”
Uncle Jasper took a sip of tea and looked at me. “What are you suggesting? Do you suspect someone had a hand in her death, Jilly? Surely not. Why the woman was naught but Victor’s housekeeper.”
I fixed him with a hard glare. “And that might be the very reason she is dead.”
IT TOOK ALL MY SELF-DISCIPLINE TO concentrate on my work that morning. But once I became deep into the translation of Uncle’s watery shorthand, there was not much room to think about anything else.
Before lunch, Constable Bloom paid us a call. He sat in the parlour with a cup of tea and a jam tart, taking notes as I related my version of the previous evening’s events.
“Miss Jillian, ’tis sorry I am that your time in Ambleside has been wrought with such goin’s on,” he stated. “This is usually such a sleepy village, an’ not only is it shockin’ these terrible things have occurred, but horrific for a young lady like yourself bein’ a witness to ’em all.”
I thanked him for his thoughtfulness while my stomach became queasy. I did not want to think about either ghastly event, truth be known.
Mrs Stackpoole kept him plied with refills of tea and tarts while he asked more questions. After he finished with me, he spoke with both my uncle and Mrs Stackpoole. At length he departed, along with the housekeeper and Uncle Jasper, who walked into the village to purchase something for the evening’s meal.
Alone in the house, I struggled to keep my ever-threatening tears at bay. I forced myself to return to work—anything to keep my mind off what I had seen last night—when a knock came at the door. I thought it might be the constable once again, but it was Dominic. Without a word, he stepped inside the hallway and took me in his arms and held me tight. My body collapsed against him as though my bones had turned to gelatine, and tears spilled down my face.
How long we stood this way, I do not know. But eventually, I stopped crying, and my strength returned. Reluctantly I loosened my grip and stepped back. “I am sorry, Dominic. I do not know what has come over me,” I led him into the parlour.
He took my hand as we stood before the hearth. “Good God, Jilly, of course you are upset, you’ve had a terrible shock. Any other person might have taken to their bed today. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Come, let us sit.”
“Constable Bloom has only just left.”
“I passed him on the street. How did it go with him?”
“He asked questions about what I saw last night, but there was not much to tell. I do not know what they think about how Marabelle came to fall from the balcony, but it was no accident.”
Dominic’s eyes widened in surprise, and he leaned forward with a frown. “What? I heard she took a fainting spell and lost her balance.”
“I cannot believe that for a moment. Marabelle was a strong woman. It does not seem likely to me. Besides, she should not have been up there in the first place. The guests were on the ground floor only. For some reason Marabelle was in the Mountjoy’s private rooms.”
“That is odd,” he agreed. “What would have induced her to go up there?”
“I cannot say.” I lifted my eyes to settle upon his. “Dominic, why did you not come last night?”
His face fell. “I am sorry, Jillian. But by the time I returned from Kendal after seeing Billy, and tended the animals, I was done in. The prospect of spending the evening with you was more than tempting, but I had no desire to be among the community, especially with things the way they are. If I had been less selfish, you would not have endured this alone. I am truly sorry.” He reached across and took my hands, a gesture I was becoming familiar with.
“There is no need for you to apologise. I completely understand. It is far better you spend time with your brother. I would wish nothing else.” I thought of Hollyfield. “I wonder how the LaVelles fare this morning. They must be devastated.”
He nodded. “There was no love lost between Evergreen and Marabelle, but the woman was cousin to her mother. It will be a shock, I’ve no doubt. I plan to call on Victor this afternoon for I have other matters to discuss with him. I’ll let you know how the family are coping once we have talked. That is if I may call again?”
“I would like that.”
MY UNCLE RETURNED JUST after Dominic had left. He was not alone, for I heard him talking to someone as he came down the hall. I thought it was Mrs Stackpoole, but when the parlour door opened, it revealed both Uncle Jasper, and of all people, Lady Mountjoy.
“Jilly, my dear. Look who has come to call.” He offered Louisa Mountjoy a seat and then left us alone while he went to make us tea.
Louisa Mountjoy sat down and glanced over at me. “How are you faring?” she said, with genuine concern. She looked tired herself. Her face was pale and drawn, lacking the vitality I had seen in her before.
“I hardly slept a wink,” I answered honestly. “You?”
“The same. Exhausted. Monty and I are devastated that something so tragic happened on a night which was supposed to be pleasant. Why Marabelle was upstairs in our private apartments defies explanation. ’Tis beyond my comprehension and that somehow makes everything seem so much worse.”
“I wonder the very same thing,” I said quietly.
Louisa’s dark eyes were compassionate. “And for you to be so close when she fell. I am so sorry.”
“Lady Mountjoy—”
“Louisa.”
“
Louisa, May I be frank with you?”
“Of course.”
“I am uncertain about what happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jareth Flynn was murdered recently, and now this bizarre accident with Marabelle. Do you not find it coincidental that a village this size has two tragedies occur within weeks of one another?”
She gave a sharp intake of breath. “What are you suggesting? You think them connected?”
I shrugged. “I do not know. I am no sleuth, but I cannot help but think it strange.”
Her expression changed, she looked frightened.
“What is it? Are you troubled?” I asked, and much to my surprise, she looked as though she was about to cry.
Louisa rummaged in her reticule and pulled out a small, lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. I remained quiet while she composed herself.
“I wish to tell you something of a sensitive nature. But it must remain confidential,” she said with a muted tone. “I do not know you well, Jillian, but I think you a sensible girl. As a matter of fact, you remind me of myself many years ago, before I was a member of society.
“Back then I was a shopgirl, working at a famous department store in London called Liberty. It was there I met Monty, who was a widower. He was childless and lonely, and it was not long before we became dear friends. Much against his family’s wishes, he proposed to me and I accepted. After we married, Monty brought me to Ambleside. Ours was not a romantic relationship, more companionable, you understand.”
I was both surprised by the tale, and ill at ease being told such personal details by a woman of her standing. But out of respect, I remained quiet. She continued.
“A few years ago, I met Jareth Flynn and was instantly smitten. You may not have known the man, but he was a handsome devil who knew the powerful effect he had upon women. We were close in age, and similar in upbringing, if the truth was known. Before I could stop myself, I had quite fallen for him.” She paused as the clinking of teacups rattling on a tray became audible.